


what we are in the aftermath.

by WhiteRose_Is_My_Life



Series: Edelbert week 2020 [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Fluff, ITS EDELBERT WEEK LETS GOOOOOOOOOO, Sadness, Some Yearning, general edelbert stuff, no beta we die like Glenn, shifting time povs, some celebration, you know how it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:42:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24244456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteRose_Is_My_Life/pseuds/WhiteRose_Is_My_Life
Summary: Edelbert week, Prompt 1: The Past * Sleepless'That sleepless night was one that would stay burned into the deepest reaches of his memory until the day he passed on.'
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/Hubert von Vestra
Series: Edelbert week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1749979
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14
Collections: Edelbert Week 2020





	what we are in the aftermath.

**Author's Note:**

> *clanging pots and pans together* ITS EDELBERT WEEK COME GET UR EDELBERT. this is kinda both prompts rolled into one bc im an indecisive bitch anyway i hope u enjoy  
> im challenging myself to actually do all of edelbert week!  
> my twitter is @wrcassnessa come yell at me

Hubert watched tears fall from Edelgard’s eyes. Even with blood stained all over her weapon and armor, she looked absolutely radiant, standing in front of the corpse of the Immaculate One with her axe raised to her soldiers. 

Shortly after they returned to the monastery from the battlefield, Edelgard slipped into Hubert’s room. Her hair was down, falling gracefully to her waist, and she fixed him with a smile. 

“Lady Edelgard, if I had known you were coming, I would’ve dressed myself more fitting to the company of the Emperor. My deepest apologies.” Hubert said. Edelgard laughed, a small sound that sounded drained but happy. Hubert could hardly look away from her. 

“Hubert, we just freed the world from the rule of a tyrannical dragon god. I think you have more than earned the right to wear comfortable clothing.” she said. 

“Ah, but my respect and adoration for my Emperor come even before my defeat of godlike beings.” he replied, giving her a small smile of his own. She laughed again, moving over to him. Without warning, she wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. 

“We did it, Hubert. I have finally fulfilled my destiny. Fodlan is free.” she said, sighing. “We’re free.” 

“I never had any doubt, Lady Edelgard.” he replied, but only after she’d let go. Edelgard looked at him, an easy affection in her eyes that conveyed a message that did not require words. 

“No, I don’t suppose you did.” she agreed. “In fact, I think you are the reason I came here in the first place. I was ready to panic and give up, if I remember correctly.” 

He remembered. That sleepless night was one that would stay burned into the deepest reaches of his memory until the day he passed on.

_ - _

_ “Lady Edelgard.” Hubert said, rapping twice gently on the door to his liege’s palace room. “It is nearly tomorrow. Are you packed and ready?”  _

_ Hubert received no response, but the door creaked open. She stood in front of him, looking up into his looming figure with a bare smile and tired eyes. The bags under them had worsened, but Hubert elected not to comment on it. He bowed instead.  _

_ “I am...close.” she replied, turning her gaze away from his own. It was a lie, more clearly than he’d heard her utter before, and he was more than sure they both knew it.  _

_ “You are an Emperor, you should let-” Hubert started, but Edelgard cut him off.  _

_ “I am an Emperor  _ to-be _ , and I am perfectly capable of packing my own clothes.” She said, fixing him with a pointed look. It held no venom, but it wasn’t exactly the friendliest of looks either. He simply held his hands behind his back and nodded, waiting. _

_ “Also, I don’t desire to have my Uncle’s soldiers in my room for any longer than necessary, either.” She said, whispering. The slightest trace of fear had crept into her tone. Hubert’s fist clenched, but he was reticent to let the fury he felt show on his face.  _

_ “Would you accept my help, Lady Edelgard?” he asked. She stared up at him in silence, her lilac eyes moving slowly about the features of his face.  _

_ “Come in and close the door.” she said finally, stepping back towards her bed to allow him entry. He nodded his head in thanks and stepped in, observing the mess around him. It wasn’t uncommon for his Lady to experience fits in the throes of a night terror, but he had scarcely seen her room in such disrepair.  _

_ “Are you upset about leaving, Lady Edelgard?” he said. She took a seat on her bed, fiddling with her hands.  _

_ “I have a destiny I must see to the very end, Hubert. You may well be the only one close at my side throughout all of this, and if I fail, the entire world will remain under the brainwashing of a godlike being that very few know actually exists. And I know- I know that it has to be done and I promise I will do anything to achieve it but I can’t help feeling scared to fail. And it all begins tomorrow.” Edelgard said, her hand clutching so hard to her arm that he was afraid she might hurt herself from the pressure.  _

_ Hubert walked over to her, simply placing his hand over her own and feeling it relax under his pressure.  _

_ “You need not promise me, Lady Edelgard. I know full well what you are capable of.” he whispered, just quiet enough for her to hear it. _

_ “I wasn’t. I was promising myself, because I-” she said, stopping to move both of her hands to hold his tight. “I am not sure if I am ready to be a leader just yet.”  _

_ “Lady Edelgard,” he began, putting his other hand atop her head to press her against his torso. “You are the greatest woman I have ever known. You may think me biased because of my station, but I speak only the truth. I have watched you climb the highest walls, fall from the highest heights, run the longest lengths, and do anything and everything you could for the benefit of the people of Fodlan.”  _

_ “I am hardly qualified to lead just because I have been through much for others. You’ve seen the empire, the towns and villages and farms, everyone works day in and day out to support those they care about. Why should I be any more suited for the job than them?”  _

_ “Maybe you are not, Lady Edelgard. But you  _ are _ the only one capable of achieving  _ your  _ dreams. The choice of what you are in the aftermath resides with you, and you alone.” Hubert said, not daring to move lest he disturb her. Silence descended between them, the only noise in the room the rain outside gently hitting the windows.  _

_ “Then please, Hubert...please promise me you will be with me every stretch of the way until then. I do not know if I can do this alone.” she asked, quiet.  _

_ “I will follow you to the Officer’s Academy, to your Coronation, and to any and all struggles you may encounter on this path. You will  _ never _ be alone in this, Lady Edelgard.” he said. Hubert felt her hand squeeze his tight, and even without a vocal response he knew she’d heard him.  _

_ It wasn’t long before she fell asleep, her soft breaths evening. Hubert laid her gently on her bed, and began the somewhat grueling task of getting her ready for the move to the Officer’s Academy in the morning.  _

_ - _

“You told me that night that I would never be alone on the path to my destiny, Hubert.” Edelgard said, regarding her ill-dressed retainer affectionately. “But what of after that?” she asked, reaching her hand out towards him. 

“Anywhere you go, Lady Edelgard, I will follow. That has always been the case, and will always be the case.” Hubert replied. He took her hand in his own, finding her grip tight and trusting, just as it had been that night almost six years prior. 

**Author's Note:**

> my twitter is @wrcassnessa


End file.
